Name:... HSC Module B Lesson 4: Hamlet III deltaeducation.com.au contact@deltaeducation.com.au (02) 8959 4849 3D/14 Glen Street, Eastwood NSW 2122
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Introduction Last week, we covered the foundations of Hamlet an overview of textual integrity, contextual influences, and main themes and issues. This week, we ll be deconstructing these areas of analysis even further by looking into the first two acts of the play. This is where all your in-depth textual analysis will come in to play in your essays, as you ll be drawing on quotes and textual evidence to support your claims about the issues we talked about last week. Textual Form and Structure Before we begin close textual analysis of each scene, we ll be looking into some of the stock elements of the revenge tragedy genre, how they fit into Hamlet, as well as how Shakespeare implements the five-act structure. Genre Genre is a constant process of negotiation and change - David Buckingham Students will often ask the question: Why is genre important? And Why should I include it in my critical response? Indeed, some understanding of what the term genre means is necessary to appreciate the way in which popular genres such as revenge tragedy have evolved over the centuries and gained influence. David Crystals (a renowned British academic, linguist and author) defines genre as: established categories of composition, characterized by distinctive language or subject matter (such as plot or setting). The reason this categorization is important, is because conceptual uniformity can be a useful tool not only during the composition of a text, but also in your analysis it 2
allows loose categorization into literary groupings such as tragedy or comedy that share stylistic elements and conventions. This creates a sort of textual code that is tacitly understood by audiences, rather being explicitly taught or learnt, and these perceptions are shaped by prevailing cultural attitudes and values. Since new forms and genres continually evolve throughout time, they are historically relative; shaped by and reflective of their social context. Text and context (or the zeitgeist) thus remain strongly inter-related, and this is the essence of what you have you demonstrate understanding in Module B. Revenge Tragedy Let the man who seeks revenge remember to dig two graves - Chinese proverb The genre of revenge tragedy is one that you should think about when approaching questions relating to the enduring relevance of Hamlet throughout time what is it about the play that strikes audiences time and time again? Is it something intrinsic to the revenge tragedy genre? What is it about revenge that strikes the core of the human condition? Retribution is an instinctive human response to what is perceived as an unwarranted injury or offence it s triggered by a violent passion for returning evil to evil (in the loose words of Aristotle). Once personal vengeance is unleashed, tragic consequences typically follow, and we can regard the longevity of the revenge tragedy genre as partly being explained by its exploration of the moral complexity and emotional interplay that lies at its core. 3
Typical Conventions Corrupt social milieu Social milieu is typically represented as being inherently corrupt and immoral Traditional and accepted standards of morality are perverted or subverted by a tyrannical political leadership Hierarchal instability is reflected in disordered and flawed societies whose ruling class is shown to be of questionable virtue Social values, faith and relationships have become tainted Social and moral corruption also infects the legal and judicial system, eroding justice and embedding the power wielded by those in control Injustice source of corruption The predicament of a wronged hero is highlighted A revenger is forced to respond to circumstances beyond his control The legal system has failed to adequately punish the wrongdoers so that the avenger must resort to plotting personal vengeance The storyline usually starts mid-action, disorienting the audience but effectively engaging their attention Traditionally, the victim was often initially unassailable due to social status The avenger The traditional revenge protagonist was typically heroic (but in a contemporary context, the genre has evolved and the avenger is no longer necessarily a person of noble or eminent social standing like Hamlet was) Highly flawed individuals, characterization can be stereotyped 4
Dramatic tension is developed by protagonist hesitating and being initially reluctant to react Complex plotting results from avenger doubting how retribution can be best achieved Madness, either feigned or real, becomes a typical motif associated with the avenger Duplicity and deception become key strategies, but whilst effective in gaining vengeance, they further the avenger s isolation John D. Rea, Hamlet and the Ghost Again Revenge and retribution A clash of great forces and powerful motivations such as greed, lust, vendetta, justice and truth is depicted Suffering is extensive Complex plotlines integrate different revenge threads (see last week s course material on the theme of revenge) that can show several plotters working simultaneously for their own ends 5
Violence Retribution is shown to have destructive and violent ramifications Blood, spectacle and death feature heavily in the plot Levels of emotional passion intensify as the story unfolds and vengeance is finally attained Richard Brucher, Fantasies of Violence: Hamlet and the Revenger s Tragedy - Moral decline Injustice predominates in immoral social contexts foregrounding issues of social values and attitudes Avenger morally degenerates as a result of his actions Avenger s integrity is ironically compromised by his personal attack on injustice Hamlet as a Revenge Tragedy Of course, because the nuances of the revenge tragedy genre have evolved through time, Hamlet is not going to reflect each and every single element or convention that revenge tragedies today perhaps may explore. However, Hamlet is one the finest Renaissance examples of the genre, offering Elizabethan audiences a humanist exploration of personality as well as a tale of justifiable vengeance in response to a usurper s act of regicide. 6
Read the following points in conjunction with the themes and issues discussed last week this is step one in linking together different aspects of textual analysis: textual integrity. Corrupt social milieu Elsinore is a deceptive and corrupt world, full of political intrigue (Denmark would have been perceived by Elizabethan audiences as a foreign and physically isolated place) Grief-stricken Hamlet is overwhelmed by despair and melancholy, appalled by those noble courtiers who have freely gone with this affair along integrity has been compromised by tacit acquiescence to a hasty and questionable accession and incestuous marriage For Hamlet, Denmark s a prison, and his emotional alienation amidst such corruption is reinforced by the inky cloak and solemn black of his apparel (keep an eye out for our future discussion of the motif of clothing and appearances!) he s distrustful and prefers solitude, using his soliloquys to reveal his innermost thoughts Compare his innate nobility to the evil infested environment he perceives: this world tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed Danish court represented as a venal world, where corruption prevails and nothing can be trusted Supernatural apparitions Supernatural forces play a role in Hamlet, with the ghost of King Hamlet demanding his son avenge Claudius foul and unnatural deed the grave injunction for vengeance from this majestical phantom ensnares Hamlet in a 7
tragic situation where moral and intellectual inclinations contest with the demands of filial duty This ghostly thing that is described as a dreaded sight, illusion, spirit of health of goblin damn d is spectre of awe his/its stately walk and measured words leave witnesses awestruck and bewildered The ghost s first appearance is not motivated by a desire for justice rather than compassion: pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing / to what I shall unfold his horrible form attests to the horrible purgatory he has been forced to endure because he died unshriven and his suffering can only be alleviated by his son s retribution against murder most foul.strange and unnatural The ghost s second appearance is more condemnatory in tone, encouraging Hamlet to action by stinging his conscience with the many reasons that exist for vengeance to be enacted ( he that hath killed my kind, and whored my mother see Act V Scene II) - John D. Rea, Hamlet and the Ghost Again 8
Villains The usurper King Claudius is clearly a villain through the acts of regicide, fratricide and biblical incest that he commits such crimes have universal resonance, offering the moral and legal codes of justice as the Ghost reveals the truth to his son ( Thus was I, sleeping by a brother s hand / Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatched ) Hamlet describes Claudius in the opening as an undeniable rogue who characterizes the corrupt underbelly of Denmark: O villain, villain, smiling damned villain! and Let not the royal bed of Denmark be / A couch for luxury and damned incest, yet Claudius is also a competent statesman; articulate, perceptive and cunning (see last week s material on appearances v reality and the facades that Claudius puts on) Remember though, that in your analysis you need to look beyond what is most evident, go beneath the surface and present an interesting insight! Claudius is not the only villain in the play Gertrude can also be perceived as a villain (though more guilty of being weak and inconstant than evil) she is a most pernicious woman who disgusts her son by her o er hasty marriage and disloyalty to her former spouse Think of the revenge tragedy genre s typical depiction of lust and debauchery this is clearly evident in Gertrude s actions which cause her son to declare her frailty ( frailty, thy name is woman! ) 9
Richard D. Altick, Hamlet and the Odor of Mortality Malcontents NB: The Malcontent is a character type often used in Shakespeare s plays this type of character is discontent with the events and other characters in the play, and is often an observer who comments on the action or may even show awareness that they are in the play. Their role is usually both political and dramatic; with the malcontent voicing dissatisfaction with the usually Machiavellian political atmosphere and often using asides to build up a kind of self-consciousness and awareness of the text itself which other characters in the play will lack to the same extent. The play has three different individuals feeling compelled to avenge wrongs committed against their fathers (see last week s content on Revenge) Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras Hamlet believes that time is out of joint and is tortured by inner conflicts ( O cursed spite that I was born to set it right ) and is largely unable to act while the other sons are, by contrast, assertive and clear of purpose (foil characters). (From A History of Hamlet Criticism 1601-1821 by Paul S. Conklin): Hamlet was seen, first of all, most decidedly as a malcontent; and at times as mad, 10
either as a lover or as possessed with a madness that is quite primitive and realistic, with comic overtones. The Elizabethans must have looked upon the malady of malcontentism as containing aspects that were close to real madness there are a number of echoes of a malcontent Hamlet who seems far from unbalanced. He is a Hamlet whom we know today if we rid our perceptions of any sentimental coloring, and try to be imaginatively sympathetic with this earlier period. This Hamlet is masculine and primitive. He is melancholy, but his emotion is not of the graveyard type so common in the next century; nor is it similar to that century s social tear. This malcontentism is often bitterly sarcastic, cynical, cruel and obscene. Madness Another typical convention of Renaissance revenge tragedy is the unstable mental states commonly found in the key characters it is often a ruse used to facilitate deception and manipulation and the extent of Hamlet s madness has long been a contentious issue amongst critics Hamlet s manner alternates between periods of composure and paroxysms of fury this antic disposition he adopts only exhibiting outward show of madness that obscures his actions See Polonius s remark in Act II: Though this be madness, yet there is method in t Intrigue and Deception Many characters adopt false masks to hide behind verisimilitude pervades the plays of this era, developing dramatic tension through our confusion about what is real and what is false this is fostered in the very opening scenes of the play 11
Sympathy for Hamlet is aroused by his finding himself increasingly isolated in a world awash with deception and intrigue The conspiratorial core of Elsinore Polonius, whose devious stratagems and lies even extend to spying on both his children for his own political ends (see last week s material re deception) See Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who admit they were sent for, arousing a sense of foreboding No one can be taken at face value, so that the atmosphere becomes charged with paranoia and suspicion Physical horrors/violence The genre s love of spectacle resounds in the numerous descriptions of rancor, violence and the eight deaths through poisoning and duels just how many carnal, bloody and unnatural acts are represented? Graphic detail describes my prison house and eternal blazon when the ghostly king s revelation of his hellish fate is revealed at the outset of the play Wilson Knight (a 20 th century literary critic and academic) described Hamlet as having a death infected imagination which dwells on the futility, aridity and pointlessness of life Look at symbols of corruption, death and disease a place contaminated by a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours where life has been tainted by the hidden abscess of vice and pervesion that surrounds Hamlet Atypically however, the violence does not take the life of Horatio, the avenger s accomplice Hamlet s friend yearns for self-destruction: I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. Here s some liquor left but he is coerced to remain alive through the prince s explicit request that he give an honest report of the story 12
These are just some elements of a revenge tragedy in Hamlet to get your thinking started have a look at the characterization of Hamlet in your own time, and try and ascertain how he lives up to the typical conventions of an avenger within the genre. The Five-Act Structure Act One: Orientation this act introduces the setting, the basic plot, the major themes and issues and the characters (as well as character relationships) that will feature in the play. Act Two: Problems arise: one or more major issues in the play will begin to unfold, as the events entangle relevant characters into the conflict. Act Three: Complications: Problems detailed in previous acts become more obvious there is more detail and importance placed on these issues, as the challenges that the characters face become trickier and more dangerous. Act Four: Turn-around of fortunes: Often the play s balance (perhaps between happiness and sadness, or good and evil) changes for the last and most significant time. Act Five: Resolution: The event that the play has been building up to finally occurs for example, the tragic hero meets his doom order is usually restored (but is it really, in Hamlet?) and the surviving characters, usually the minor ones, are forced to deal with the aftermath of the events. 13
Paul A. Cantor: Close Reading of ACT I What happens in Act I? Scene one: Characters present: Francisco (soldier), Bernardo (officer), Marcellus (officer), Horatio (Hamlet s friend and Wittenberg schoolmate), ghost (spirit of Hamlet s murdered father) It s the middle of the night in winter and we re outside Elsinore castle, with Franciso standing guard until he s relieved by Bernardo. Marcellus and Horatio soon join them, and they all discuss whether or not they think the castle is haunted by a 14
ghost. Suddenly, the ghost of King Hamlet appears and just as quickly vanishes. Horatio speculates about the meaning of the ghost s appearance in terms of Denmark s fate, when it reappears and disappears again. The men decide to inform Prince Hamlet of their strange encounter as the morning dawns. Scene two: Characters present: Claudius (Hamlet s uncle and current King), Cornelius and Voltemand (courtiers), Gertrude (Queen of Denmark and Hamlet s mother), Hamlet (Prince of Denmark), Polonius (Lord Chamberlain), Laertes (Polonius son) The morning after the sighting of the ghost, King Claudius attends to domestic affairs, first of all informing his courtiers of his recent marriage to Gertrude (whilst mourning the death of King Hamlet), and also giving Laertes his blessing and permission to leave for France, yet persuading Hamlet to remain in Elsinore. Hamlet broods over his mother s second marriage and curses his fate, when he is interrupted by Horatio and the officers who inform him of their encounter with the ghost that resembled Hamlet s deceased father. Hamlet resolves to see the ghost for himself, telling the men that he will join them at the platform outside the castle later that night. Scene three: Characters present: (same as above), plus Ophelia (sister of Laertes and daughter of Polonius, as well as Hamlet s love interest) Laertes is preparing to leave for France, and warns Ophelia before he learns, to be wary of Hamlet s romantic advances and not to fall in love with him because his birth status is too far above her own. Ophelia accepts his words, but also retorts that 15
he ought not to preach virtue that he does not follow himself. Polonius bids his son farewell and echoes Laertes advice. Ophelia pledges to obey. Scene four: Hamlet joins Horatio and Marcellus on the castle platform at midnight, when he hears the trumpets from within the castle that signify the start of Claudius celebrations. Hamlet is disgusted, and criticizes this Danish tradition when the ghost appears and calls for Hamlet, beckoning him to follow. Hamlet s companions dissuade him from following, but Hamlet follows the apparition into the darkness. Scene five: In the darkness, after having followed the ghost to a remote part of the castle platform, the ghost informs Hamlet of the deeds that Claudius had committed against him, and exhorts Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius (but spare Gertrude). Horatio and Marcellus finally find Hamlet, but Hamlet refuses to share what the ghost told him, coercing both men into secrecy. What are the main issues introduced? Orientation this act introduces the setting, the basic plot, the major themes and issues and the characters (as well as character relationships) that will feature in the play. Act I has introduced us to the major characters in Hamlet, given us an insight into what type of person they are, as well as portraying the setting of the play in the corrupt court of Elsinore in Denmark. We re introduced to the deeds committed by 16
Claudius, as Hamlet s revelation sets the tone for the scenes to follow the play has been framed around this one act of regicide that Hamlet is to avenge. Contextual issues: Look at the reign of Queen Elizabeth and the questions surrounding succession of the throne who would take over after her death? How does Act I immediately deal with concerns about transferal of power from one monarch to the next? Hierarchal instability and uncertainty, as well as upheavals and betrayal and accompany these shifts in power Prince Hamlet does not inherit the throne as one would expect to be the right or natural move there s an aura of fear and suspicion Relevance of the Great Chain of Being how do religious allusions fit in? The internal hierarchy of the court of Elsinore? Textual issues: Appearance of the ghost at night motif of darkness and uncertainty, what does this say about the future of Denmark? Look at the ghost s role as an internal foreshadowing of the later tragedies to come in the play The function of Horatio s character he s established as a good-humoured, well educated and intelligent man who is skeptical of supernatural events first he is reluctant to give credence to the existence of ghosts, yet is then overwhelmed with terror upon seeing it (without denying its presence) characterizes him as trustworthy Audience s suspension of disbelief re the ghost Horatio represents audience s perspective in this scene to allow them to mirror his overcoming of disbelief with the ghost s existence 17
How is Claudius introduced and characterized? Do we know more about him than the characters in the play do? (Translation sourced from No Fear Shakespeare) Original Text Modern Text Enter BARNARDO and FRANCISCO, two sentinels BARNARDO Who s there? FRANCISCO Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself. BARNARDO Long live the king! FRANCISCO Barnardo? BARNARDO He. BARNARDO and FRANCIS CO, two watchmen, enter. BARNARDO Who s there? FRANCISCO No, who are you? Stop and identify yourself. BARNARDO Long live the king! FRANCISCO Is that Barnardo? BARNARDO Yes, it s me. - Act I, Scene I Looking at the lines above, the dialogue in the opening of the play (whilst revealing little substantial material), sets the tone for the entire play. The opening line of who s there, though spoken by a relatively minor character, establishes an inquisitive or interrogative mode that reflects the play s ontological and existential focus on questions (see last week s material on uncertainty). 18
Throughout the play, Hamlet attempts to discover who s there, in terms of the ghost, Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia and himself the issues of identity and appearances plague him, and the motifs of clothing and masks inform the entire play s focus on acting. Secondly, this question also functions to highlight the setting of the scene in the darkness of midnight, in the middle of winter. Not only is the audience in the dark about what s currently happening, but there s also this sense of uncertainty that is about to follow in terms of the characters being in the dark about each others intentions. Enter GHOST The GHOST enters MARCELLUS Peace, break thee off. Look where it MARCELLUS Quiet, shut up! It s come again. comes again! BARNARDO In the same figure like the king BARNARDO Looking just like the dead king. that s dead. 40 MARCELLUS (to HORATIO) Thou art a scholar. Speak to it, Horatio. BARNARDO Looks it not like the king? Mark it, Horatio. HORATIO MARCELLUS (to HORATIO) You re well-educated, Horatio. Say something to it. BARNARDO Doesn t he look like the king, Horatio? HORATIO 19
Most like. It harrows me with fear Very much so. It s terrifying. and wonder. 45 BARNARDO It would be spoke to. MARCELLUS Question it, Horatio. HORATIO What art thou that usurp st this time of night Together with that fair and warlike form In which the majesty of buried Denmark Did sometimes march? By heaven, I charge thee, speak. BARNARDO It wants us to speak to it. MARCELLUS Ask it something, Horatio. HORATIO What are you, that you walk out so late at night, looking like the dead king of Denmark when he dressed for battle? By God, I order you to speak.! Act I, Scene I There s a blurring of lines between statehood and supernatural these incongruous associations that result in impertinent digressions as, according to Tillyard (see E. M. W Tillyard, British classical and literary scholar), the appearance of the ghost means a breaking down of the walls of the world and chaos supervenes as the ghost creates doubt, uncertainty and bewilderment. 20
Alan Ackerman Jr., Visualising Hamlet s Ghost CLAUDIUS Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him Together with remembrance of ourselves. Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, Th' imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we as twere with a defeated joy, With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barred Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone CLAUDIUS Although I still have fresh memories of my brother the elder Hamlet s death, and though it was proper to mourn him throughout our kingdom, life still goes on I think it s wise to mourn him while also thinking about my own well being. Therefore, I ve married my former sister-in-law, the queen, with mixed feelings of happiness and sadness. I know that in marrying Gertrude I m only doing what all of you have wisely advised all along for which I thank you. Now, down to business. You all know what s happening. 21
With this affair along. For all, our thanks. Young Fortinbras, Now follows that you know. Young Fortinbras, Holding a weak supposal of our worth Or thinking by our late dear brother s death Our state to be disjoint and out of frame, Colleaguèd with the dream of his advantage, He hath not failed to pester us with message Importing the surrender of those lands Lost by his father, with all bonds of law, To our most valiant brother. So much for him. underestimating my strength or imagining that the death of the king has thrown my country into turmoil, dreams of getting the better of me, and never stops pestering me with demands that I surrender the territory his father lost to the elder Hamlet, my dead brother-inlaw. So much for Fortinbras. - Act I, Scene II In our first encounter with Claudius in the play, we are immediately given the impression that he is the quintessential statesman noble, rational and diplomatic as he talks of Hamlet, our dear brother s death look at the bolded words in the first portion of his speech how does he use collective pronouns and words to foster a sense of unity and togetherness? Do you think this inclusion of his audience aims to deflect his own guilt? Indeed, in true Machiavellian style, Claudius utilizes rhythm, alliteration, assonance, and syntactical balance to smooth over any inconsistencies or objections within his speech. His tone is authoritative yet compassionate, this sense of calm that his character fosters almost juxtaposes the darkness and uncertainty of the first scene, giving a sense of order and stability. 22
What else does this speech reveal about Claudius? His carefully balanced appearances cover up the paradoxes and contrasts bound within his speech that his audience is unaware of. We re alerted to this duplicity through the line with one auspicious and one dropping eye indicating that he s looking happily to the future with one eye, and casting down the other with grief the genesis of his contradictory facial expressions. This paradox is repeated immediately in the proceeding lines: with mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, and then with delight and dole, yet are smoothed out by his syntactical balance (look at his eloquent rhetoric and smooth, regular stresses, as well as the feminine endings of several lines). This complex phonetic equation is presented by Claudius as natural and decorous, despite their associated moral quandary and he uses such language devices to disguise the inconsistencies within what he s saying (see last week s thematic discussion on facades, and appearance v reality). He strategically presents us with information in equal scale and even his incidental diction is of joining: jointerous, disjoint indeed, this is reinforced through the excessive enjambment within his speech, which provides cohesion and fluidity to present an articulate and calculated character. HAMLET (aside) A little more than kin and less than kind. HAMLET (speaking so no one else can hear) Too many family ties there for me. CLAUDIUS How is it that the clouds still hang on you? HAMLET CLAUDIUS Why are you still so gloomy, with a cloud hanging over you? HAMLET 23
Not so, my lord. I am too much i' the sun. It s not true, sir. Your son is out in the sun.! Act I, Scene II Immediately after Claudius s speech to the court, Hamlet addresses the audience through an aside remark A little more than kin and less than kind, a sarcastic remark that reinforces the malcontent s removal from other characters. This play on words is repeated in his next line when responding to Claudius: I am too much I the sun (meaning he feels uncomfortable with his position as Claudius now-son), thereby establishing for the audience the antagonistic relationship between Claudius and Hamlet. His aside to the audience (indeed, the first character to give an aside) also fosters a connection with the audience, allowing him to become an agent on the stage to foster a trustful bond. In the later lines of this scene, we also begin to see the early traits of Hamlet as avenger he starts to forge his exclusion and alienation amongst the people around him and acts against all who stand in his way. His most visible action at this stage is his repeated undermining of Claudius most notably through his refusal to engage with his uncle-father in conversation. Hamlet is insistent with holding his pride and feelings from the interrogation of his parents, a performance that insists on the opposition of private-public and is an open affront to Claudius. 24
Richard D. Altick, Hamlet and the Odor of Mortality - Teresa Hooper, Dangerous Doubles: Puns and Language in Shakespeare s Hamlet 25
HAMLET Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God! How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on t, ah fie! 'Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this. But two months dead nay, not so much, not two. So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr. So loving to my mother HAMLET Ah, I wish my dirty flesh could melt away into a vapor, or that God had not made a law against suicide. Oh God, God! How tired, stale, and pointless life is to me. Damn it! It s like a garden that no one s taking care of, and that s growing wild. Only nasty weeds grow in it now. I can t believe it s come to this. My father s only been dead for two months no, not even two. Such an excellent king, as superior to my uncle as a god is to a beast, and so loving toward my mother that he kept the wind from blowing too hard on her face. That he might not beteem the winds of heaven Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth, Oh God, do I have to remember that? She would hang on to him, and the more she was with him the more 26
Must I remember? Why, she would hang on him As if increase of appetite had grown By what it fed on, and yet, within a month Let me not think on t. Frailty, thy name is woman! A little month, or ere those shoes were old With which she followed my poor father s body, Like Niobe, all tears. Why she, even she O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourned longer! married with my uncle, My father s brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules. Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her gallèd eyes, She married. O most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not nor it cannot come to good, But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue. she wanted to be with him; she couldn t get enough of him. Yet even so, within a month of my father s death (I don t even want to think about it. Oh women! You are so weak!), even before she had broken in the shoes she wore to his funeral, crying like crazy even an animal would have mourned its mate longer than she did! there she was marrying my uncle, my father s brother, who s about as much like my father as I m like Hercules. Less than a month after my father s death, even before the tears on her cheeks had dried, she remarried. Oh, so quick to jump into a bed of incest! That s not good, and no good can come of it either. But my heart must break in silence, since I can t mention my feelings aloud. - Act I, Scene II 27
Hamlet s passionate first soliloquy in Scene II of Act I provides a markedly striking contrast to the controlled and artificial dialogue in his exchanges with Claudius and the court in previous lines. Indeed, the main function of his soliloquys is to reveal intimidate details about his inner psyche to the audience in this case, his profound melancholia and the reasons behind his despair. The tonal shifts within the confines of Hamlet s soliloquy ademonstrate the complexities of his character and the effects of his inner turmoil. Shakespeare uses juxtaposition and contrast to enhance Hamlet s contempt and disgust. As soon as Claudius leaves the stage, Hamlet explicitly contrasts the two kings each the antithesis to the other, a hyperion to a satyr. Hyperion was the god of the sun in human form (representing honour, virtue and regality), and a satyr is a creature half man half beast (representing laviciousness and overindulgence), so this early image immediately reinforces our perception of the dual nature of man upon which Hamlet will repeatedly reflect. Hamlet also reflects on his existential crisis how everything in his world is either futile of contemptible and his speech is saturated with his disjointed outpouring of emotions: disgust, anger, sorrow and grief. There are suggestions of rot and corruption: rank, gross, as well as the metaphor of the world as being an unweeded garden a biblical reference to the prelapsarian garden of Eden. We re exposed to the nature of his grief stemming from the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius, immediately following the death of his rightful father and King, and he is tormented by the images of Gertrude s tender affections toward King Hamlet, believing that her insincere displays of love were only a pretense to satisfy her own greed. 28
Finally, another important remark by Hamlet in this soliloquy is his self-deprecating comment but no more like my father / Than I to Hercules a foreshadow to his developing lack of self-worth that is to become the focus of his next soliloquy, and indeed will inform his later existential crises. POLONIUS Yet here, Laertes? Aboard, aboard, for shame! The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail And you are stayed for. There, my blessing with thee. And these few precepts in thy memory Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought his act. Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar. Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel, But do not dull thy palm with entertainment POLONIUS You re still here? Shame on you get on board! The wind is filling your ship s sail, and they re waiting for you. Here, I give you my blessing again. And just try to remember a few rules of life. Don t say what you re thinking, and don t be too quick to act on what you think. Be friendly to people but don t overdo it. Once you ve tested out your friends and found them trustworthy, hold onto them. But don t waste your time shaking hands with every new guy you meet. Don t 29
Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, Bear t that th' opposèd may beware of thee. Give every man thy ear but few thy voice. Take each man s censure but reserve thy judgment. Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not expressed in fancy rich, not gaudy, For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station Are of a most select and generous chief in that. Neither a borrower nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. be quick to pick a fight, but once you re in one, hold your own. Listen to many people, but talk to few. Hear everyone s opinion, but reserve your judgment. Spend all you can afford on clothes, but make sure they re quality, not flashy, since clothes make the man which is doubly true in France. Don t borrow money and don t lend it, since when you lend to a friend, you often lose the friendship as well as the money, and borrowing turns a person into a spendthrift. And, above all, be true to yourself. Then you won t be false to anybody else. Good-bye, son. I hope my blessing will help you absorb what I ve said. Farewell. My blessing season this in thee.! Act I, Scene III Is Polonius just a simple old fool or does he actually hold considerable political power within Elsinore? From his spiel to Laertes above, we get the impression that he s long-winded, self-absorbed and dull. It s taken him nearly thirty lines to give 30
Laertes his final greeting that could really have been summed up in one (albeit commonly quoted) line: this above all, to thine own self be true. From a feminist perspective, we could also look at how revered Polonius perception of Laertes is compared to his later treatment of Ophelia. Ophelia s opening line is inquisitive and cast with doubt; where all other major characters have pasts signifying occupations as a royal, student or counselor, Ophelia s character is constructed through her relationships as a sister, daughter and sweetheart. Her occupation is to be a girl in a court dominated by men, where her only refuge is submission at the mercy of the patriarchal hegemony: this is evident in this scene where her father chastises her innocence and refers to her interest in Hamlet as springes to catch woodcocks (basically implying that these vows of Hamlet are just traps for stupid birds). The imagery of traps here doesn t just apply to Ophelia s love for Hamlet however, the notion of entrapment also informs the play s broader themes of deceit (see last week s material on lies, deceit and facades). The metaphor of the springes that Polonius uses when talking to Ophelia is recreated by Laertes when he dies later on in the play, as he says as a woodcock to mine own springe, referring to how he s been caught in his own trap. We ll be looking at the motif of traps as they come up in future scenes and acts. HAMLET Murder? GHOST Murder most foul, as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange and unnatural. HAMLET Murder? GHOST His most horrible murder. Murder s always horrible, 31
but this one was especially horrible, weird, and unnatural. 30 HAMLET Haste me to know t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge. HAMLET Hurry and tell me about it, so I can take revenge right away, faster than a person falls in love.! Act I, Scene V In Hamlet s first encounter with the ghost, he pledges himself to filial duty, unquestioningly accepting the validity of what the ghost has proposed, and committing himself to take revenge out on Claudius. His haste in promising the ghost s vengeance ( Haste me to know t, that I may sweep to my revenge ) however, wavers throughout the coming Acts, informing his constant rumination. - Cherrell Guilfyole, Not Two: Denial and Duality in Hamlet 32
- Alan Ackerman Jr., Visualising Hamlet s Ghost Questions to think about for Homework: i. How do the events of the first Act inform the (issues in the) rest of the play? ii. What is the function of the ghost? How is suspense built up before and in between its appearance(s)? iii. What is our initial interpretation of the relationship between Hamlet and Horatio? How does their relationship dynamic develop or change throughout the play? iv. How do you think we, the audience, would portray Claudius, compared to the characters in the court? v. What is the significance of Hamlet s first soliloquy in Act I, Scene II? 33